Marie Pflipsen, the City of Becker’s Community Development Director, was recently chosen to participate in the inaugural Minnesota Young American Leaders Program to be held on the University of Minnesota campus in late November.

The goal of the program is for participants to gather and share know-ledge regarding the state and trajectory of regional and national economic development, learn and practice tools of cross-sector collaboration and establish a network of new relationships. The curriculum will be based on research done by the Harvard Business School regarding American competitiveness and shared prosperity.   

Because Pflipsen oversees the city’s day-to-day tasks within planning and zoning, long range planning and economic development efforts, the workshop comes at an opportune time as Becker’s leaders work to transition and diversify the local economy.

“Part of the program is focused on how to better our economy, both locally and regionally,” says Pflipsen, who has been with the city since March of 2016. “I envision this focus area of the program to be beneficial with the City’s current economic development efforts.”

Pflipsen’s participation has received a hearty endorsement from Becker City Administrator Greg Pruszinske, who sees a great value in being able to better market the city’s story to others who may have an interest in being part of Becker’s future.

“Marie is already playing a key role in connecting Becker to the region, state and the rest of the country,” says Pruszinske. “She’s often times the face of our community when interacting with site selectors, business representatives, decision makers, politicians, etc.  

“Her participation in this program...will help expose her to others that have had similar experiences. I’m convinced that this investment will return exponentially in terms of building strategies for economic development in Becker and most importantly executing those strategies.”

In order to be chosen for the program, Pflipsen had to apply to the Greater Saint Cloud Development Corporation (GSDC) who is serving as the selection partner in the process.  The process was rigorous, as nearly a dozen industry professionals participated in the selection process by reviewing the many applicants for just ten St. Cloud region awardees.   

The winners represent a wide range of backgrounds, from education and private business to nonprofit management. Pflipsen sees the diverse perspectives of the program participants as one of the most appealing parts of the program.

“The networking involved with this program is what I envision as the most beneficial to my current position and Becker,” says Pflipsen, who will soon finish her master’s degree in public administration at Hamline University. “I think the best way to learn is from each other and having a broad network is a cornerstone to that. Having access to others with different expertise is a huge asset.”

It also fits well with what Pruszinske says is part the city’s strategy moving forward.

“Marie will collaborate with other ‘high trajectory’ leaders from across the region and they will become part of Marie’s and the city’s network partners,” says Pruszinske.  “That step is so critical to me as the city administrator because we don’t have a moment to lose in this coal transition. If we’re able to learn from someone else’s mistakes, we’ll save time, resources and likely have a better end result.”

Pruszinske sees Pflipsen’s success in the program as something that can have a big impact on Becker’s current and future development plans. As Becker works to market the city and industrial park to businesses, having someone like Pflipsen is vital to creating relationships and getting conversations started.

“When we send someone to an event we need a smart, articulate person that is savvy to how large scale businesses select sites,” says Pruszinske. “Marie checks those boxes and is an excellent advocate for Becker.  She is also an excellent problem solver which is how we’ve been able to come so far with projects like Google and Northern Metals Recycling.”

In addition to participating in the workshop, Pflipsen and her cohort will have responsibilities moving forward in creating an ongoing program for the St. Cloud region over the next year. They will also be attending and presenting at certain GSDC meetings in the future.  Through all of these efforts, Pflipsen will continue to serve as an ambassador for Becker and its efforts in marketing the city.

“Economic development is a passion of mine and a key area of my position,” says Pflipsen. “I hope this program makes me a better leader within my job, but also as someone that has a passion for the area and the place I call home.”